1. Field of The Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus of grounding a cable in an electrical conductive raceway and the raceway for use in an interior wall system by forming a crimp section in the wall of the raceway, and then crimping a bare, or partially bare, cable or wire directly to the wall With the crimp section.
2. Description of Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,367,370 discloses an interior wall system used for dividing offices and other interior regions into smaller work areas. These prior art systems include a plurality of prefabricated panels releasably joined together and individually electrically prewired to facilitate supplying electrical energy to areas bounded by the wall system.
One necessary aspect of the wall panel is the grounding system for the metal parts. For reasons of safety and prevention of electrical short circuits, a raceway encloses the power cable. When the raceway is made of metal, it must be grounded. U.S. Pat. No. 4,429,934 discloses one method of providing a ground using a ground clip. This prior art clip is clipped to the ground wire of the cable and is hooked over the edge of the wall of the raceway making electrical contact thereto. This grounds not only the raceway but also the panel sections in electrical contact with the raceway. U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,055 discloses a method of attaching a ground wire to a metal frame by using a screw and washer or a screw and ring terminal.
Although the prior methods of attaching the metal raceway to the ground have worked well, an attempt has been made to make the connection less costly from both a material and a labor standpoint. To take advantage of the labor savings provided by machinery production of this ground connection, a metal rivet has been used to attach an insulation displacement terminal or a ring terminal to the metal base. With one additional step, the ground is attached to either of these terminals. In both of these methods of ground connection, although time is saved, an extra terminal is needed to connect the wire to the metal base. This use of additional terminals adds to cost and creates the potential for inventory control problems.